Hands on with the OPPO Reno 16 F 5G and the OPPO Bubble

We recently brought you pricing and availability of the OPPO Reno 16 F 5G , the latest in the locally-loved Reno series of devices from the company. Together with this new phone OPPO is also launching a unique screen / photography accessory known as the Bubble which first adopters will get for free locally.

While we now know all the specs, pricing and other important details, we don’t know how these devices actually feel in the hand. Well that changed today at an OPPO event where we got to see, feel and play around with the new Reno and the Bubble.

OPPO Reno 16 F 5G

Our first impression, when picking this new phone up, is the familiar high build quality that OPPO is known for. We’ve used some of their devices as daily drivers in the past and this is a reminder why. The phone feels solid in the hand without being too weighty, and the camera array doesn’t present a notable bump which is becoming the norm with a lot of manufactures.

Before exploring the software we had to keep taking in the hardware by flipping the device over to appreciate the Twilight Violet (above left) and Pop White (above left) colourways, both of which are available in South Africa.

The Twilight Violet is definitely the more understated of the two, offering a very dark but lovely purple colour that can be mistaken for black or dark grey depending on the lighting. It’s encircled by a dark purple metal band and a more lively purple colour for the metal around the cameras.

The Pop White is the more notable of the two featuring a special holographic pattern on the back that gives off the illusion of movement as the phone is handled. This was almost impossible to capture in a video but the result in person is rather fantastic. Pop White feels the de facto one to get and it makes a see through case mandatory so you can still appreciate that effect.

As for the software we didn’t get much time to get familiar with it, but it looked and felt like the usual OPPO affair which we’ve come to expect. Great features like RAM expansion and SUPERVOOC charging are both here, which are some OPPO specialities which make the brand notable.

Many AI features were highlighted in the presentation we saw, including a huge suite of image editing options and file organisation. These are great if you like using AI, but you can of course do things the old fashioned way too and use the normal array of Android offerings.

For more on this phone and its specs, see our aforementioned launch article here.

OPPO Bubble

The OPPO Bubble is a unique little accessory that we don’t see other manufacturers offering. The “Ultra-Clear Rear Selfie View Custom Vibe E-Badge”, as OPPO calls it, features a circular 1.7-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 466×466.

The Bubble can be attached magnetically to the back of the OPPO Reno 16 F 5G where it can mirror the screen, giving you the ability to capture selfies while using the back cameras.

Alternatively it can be put into a keychain and worn as a fashion accessory. Between the holographic effect on the Pop White colourway and the Bubble, we really feeling some great 2000s futurism notes that are trendy right niow, and we love it.

Other features of the Bubble include waking the phone’s camera when the device is locked, snapping pictures remotely (including the use of a timer) and setting a custom image for the screen to display, furthering that fashion angle.

All of this makes for a fun play thing that has use when you get bored of the tech, as a piece of personality for your phone or your wardrobe. It’s great to see phone makers trying out more unique stuff like this, and we hope to see more of it in the future.

The OPPO Bubble comes as a free inclusion for launch owners of the OPPO Reno 16 F 5G here in South Africa. We have been told by OPPO representatives that more opportunities to own the device will come up in the near future.

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